Mom Who Let Son Drive Pleads Guilty

[FL1908]

 (Sept. 1) - A Florida mother pleaded guilty Tuesday to manslaughter for letting her 15-year-old, unlicensed son drive her car. The boy got into an accident that killed a 14-year-old passenger, the St. Petersburg Times reported.

In a plea deal with prosecutors and defense attorneys, Lesa Ledesma will serve 30 days in jail and five years of probation -- two under house arrest.

"This was a tragedy. She's truly sorry for her part in it. If she could take back her actions of giving her keys to (her son), she would do it," her attorney said.

According to the Times, Ledesma told a reporter after the hearing that she wanted to express "just how sorry me and my son are."

Ledesma's son, Shawn, is now a senior in high school. He has pleaded guilty to vehicular homicide and is scheduled to be sentenced in October. The crash, which happened in St. Petersburg in 2007, killed Raquel Carreras, a popular high school cheerleader.

After Tuesday's hearing, Carreras' mother said she did not think the sentence sent a strong enough message to parents to prevent similar tragedies in the future.

For more on this story, visit the St. Petersburg Times Web site.